For many that are new to the sport of Powerlifting the training can be a little confusing and get more and more complex as time goes on. The 5x5 program is older than dirt and a great way to simplify the process and make gains in strength and size. Most trainees who get into powerlifting have had some gym experience doing higher volume bodybuilding to add inches on their biceps, but to no avail…take heart newbies, the 5x5 routine won’t let you down. There are many variations of the 5x5 so I will lay out a couple of them.1. The 3 day a week 5x5- This will look like something like this:Monday: Squat - 5 sets of 5 with the same weight2. accessory movements also done for 5 sets of 5Wednesday: Bench – 5 x5, 2 accessory movements for triceps/chest for 5x5Friday: Deadlift- 5x5, 2 accessory movements for back or hamstrings for 5x5…This is pretty basic but a balanced approach that drops your total volume down, but the intensity can be controlled by the length of time in between sets. If you take 5 minutes between sets you will have a much different experience than if you take 1 minute between sets. Generally this program will begin with 70% of your max for the movement, then as each week goes by add 5 to 10 lbs to the lift.How much weight you add each week will determine the length of time the program will work for
you. For example, if you added 10lbs a week to the squat, then an 8 week cycle would work, where as if you added 5 lbs per week you could extend the cycle to 12 weeks.New powerlifters can also make great strides staying with the primary movement for the entire cycle to develop technique andmuscle memory, while intermediate to advanced lifters trying to break through a plateau would do well to rotate to a different related movement in a three week wave before returning to the original movement, for example:
Week 1- full raw squat, 5x5Week 2- raw front squat, 5x5Week 3- raw narrow stance high bar squat, 5x5Week 4- repeat2. The 3 day a week 5x5, full body circuit. -This variation of the 5x5 is one geared primarily to lifterswho are brand new to lifting in general. It involves the same Mon/Wed/Fri split, only each of thethree primary lifts is done each workout, with no accessory movements.Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Squat – 5x5, Bench- 5x5, Deadlift, 5x5In this example the exercises are altered slightly from session to session to create variance. So Mondayyou would do your squats with a regular stance, Wednesday with a wider stance, and Friday with a narrow stance…or in the bench Monday would be close grip, Wednesday wide grip, and Friday regular. Pay special attention to the rate at which you increase the weight each week. Try and keep the rate of increase the same for each variation of the lift, even if you’re starting weight is different. For example, you may do 225 for 5x5 on Week 1 for your regular grip bench, but only 185 for 5x5 for your close grip. Try to add 5 lbs to each,week over week.Whether you are new to powerlifting or are just tired of lugging chains around and calculating percentages for every single workout, give 5x5 a try and you’ll be surprised what this old school training program will do for your gains.
NeedSizes 5x5 routine isnt bad either:The premise of the routine is progressive overload, meaning that every week you are putting increasing amounts of stress on the muscles, generally through small increases in the amount of weight used. The progressive overload forces the body to grow to adapt to the increasing amounts of stress, even though the body really isnt training to failure.

The routine consists of choosing a heavy compound exercise to use for each bodypart, these can include, squat, deadlifts, bench press, close grip bench, standing barbell curls, military press, etc. On top of the initial 5x5, you also choose 2 other exercises, and aim to do 2 sets on each, of 8-10 reps per set.Here's a sample routineChestFlat bench 5x5incline dumbell press 2x8-10incline flyes 2x8-10

The key for me when using this routine is to start light, at weights that you can easily nail your reps and concentrate on form. For example, say you can bench 225lbs for 8 reps, start with 195lbs on the bar. This should be easy, but if you keep your reps slow and in control, you will still get a good pump and have a good workout. Next week, bump up the weight by a SMALL increment, remember the key is to be able to keep adding weight, it's not a race to get to the massive poundages. If you add too quickly you will plateau in a hurry and the routine wont do jack for you. So you hit 5x5 on 195, next week its 200, the week after 205, etc. When you get to a point where you're starting to have trouble hitting your reps, add something extra to help, if you're natural, thats when I would throw in creatine and whatever else as this will help you keep adding weight. If you dont get all 5x5, then do not add more weight next week, stick with the same and the odds are you'll hit it next time you try.

This routine is very effective as it targets fast twitch muscle fibres(5x5) as well as slower twitch(8-10reps) all in the same workout. Generally when done correctly you can gain lots of size as well as some pretty incredible strength all at the same time. I'm only a bodybuilder and dont give a rat's ass about strength, but have hit lifts (ie, deadlift 550lbs for 5 reps) that would allow me to compete as a powerlifter.

otherwise your routine is pretty sound, just some more ideas to throw at ya

So this post raises an interesting question for me. The 5x5 routine I'm following calls for only 1 set of 5 reps for Deads. The reason I'm now questioning this is because this is the 2nd time in 24 hours someone has mentioned doing 5 sets of 5 reps on Deads. What is everyone's thoughts on this? I'm following SL 5x5 and my original post regarding this topic is here -> CTs SL 5x5 Round 1